Castle Vroman

by Thomas DePrima

  "With Maxxiloth's attention now turned towards the Galactic Alliance, it's hoped that we'll have time to better prepare our forces for what we know is coming. Currently, we are directing all our efforts to building powerful ships that will stand a better chance against the Milori. Since our home world is almost twenty-five-hundred light-years from your base, it's unlikely that we shall ever meet, but I propose that we agree to share intelligence about the Milori. The data ring that you now possess is capable of encrypting or decrypting messages using a different algorithm than the one your people cracked. Simply place the ring in your media tray whenever exchanging data with us. Please guard the ring well. We have intentionally disguised it to appear as an ordinary, decorative piece of jewelry so that it might fit in with other rings you possess. Please respond to this message with a retinal scan encrypted video message so we'll know you've received the ring with the message intact. This ring contains a file with my retinal scan data. I ask that you always preface it to any message so that the correspondence will only be viewable by me.

  "Minister Vertap Aloyandro. End of message."

  Jenetta stared at the screen for several minutes after the image faded. The Milori don't normally tolerate Terrans in their Empire. That was true even before they began hostilities, so intelligence data was scarce. Having an ally able to collect and report information about the Milori could be extremely useful. Of course, it could be a ploy and the minister could actually be someone trying to learn what information Space Command possessed. Lack of direct contact made that even more plausible. As a SC captain, Jenetta could not have agreed to a proposal that she share information with a foreign power, but as a flag officer, her decision-making authority had widened exponentially. She decided to play along for now. The ring data was still loaded in the temporary file area of the spindle. Outgoing message software would look for an encryption scheme there if she didn't specify any of the stored algorithms. Jenetta leaned towards the com unit and recorded a retinal scan for the outgoing transmission.

  "Greetings, Minister. I've received your message and I agree to a sharing of information about the Milori. Following our second confrontation, they agreed to leave our territory and never return, but we don't really believe this will prevent another invasion in the future and we're preparing for that eventuality. It's been fifteen months since the remnants of their forces left and by now they should be clear of the new one-hundred light-year wide Buffer Zone that our treaty with the Milori established. Spotter ships located along their route have verified passage of their two fleets, but I have no other information that I can forward at this time.

  "Jenetta Carver, Rear Admiral, Upper, Commander of Stewart Space Command Base, message complete."

  The message didn't contain anything the Milori didn't already know, so it provided nothing if the received message was fraudulent. If the message was genuine, it might be data that the Hudeerac could use, and might cement an alliance. She would play along, providing general, but useful, information until she could trust this contact. Picking up the ring from her desk, she examined it again, concurring that it did appear to be just an ordinary piece of jewelry. She tried it and found that it fit the middle finger on her left hand, so she left it. It was as good a place to hide it as any other. Space Command regulations allowed one simple ring, or engagement and wedding bands, in addition to a personal log ring. Officers were also required to wear their Space Command ring at all times, except to bed or while on leave. Most rarely took it off.

  Jenetta hadn't gotten very much regular work done during the past six days so she turned her attention back to neglected tasks and devoted herself to catching up, after first sending an encrypted copy of the message and her reply to the new head of the Intelligence section at Stewart. As one of Captain Kanes' chief deputies at Higgins before receiving his promotion and posting to Stewart, Jenetta had known Captain Lofgren for some time. She trusted his judgment, and his opinion would carry significant weight as she decided whether to continue sharing information with the Hudeerac.

  * * *

  In early October, the base held a sort of re-christening party to celebrate the completion of work on the destroyers Asuncion, Buenos Aires, and Cairo. The speeches evoked memories of the intense battle in which so many brave SC personnel had died, and which had left the ships so badly damaged that doubts about their reparability had been common. At one point, SHQ suggested Jenetta scrap the Asuncion, and possibly the others as well. But she had supported her engineering staff completely and the result was three more ships back in service, every bit as good, both cosmetically and operationally, as their sister ships.

  Even before his people had applied the finishing touches to the three GSC destroyers, Commander Derrick Jacoby had begun work on the captured Milori ships. After compiling survey data, Jacoby established an order of priority for repairs. As engineers moved the three last destroyers to normal airlock piers in the shipyard area to have their interior work completed, three pre-selected Milori ships were being detached from the cavern wall and towed to the vacated enclosed docks. Jacoby had very early identified which ships they would repair and which ships they would only use for replacement parts.

  * * *

  As November approached, engineers were completing the fifth Milori ship selected for repair and retrofit. They had selected the least damaged ships for their first attention. The months of examination and evaluation work by bots had given the engineers such complete construction plans that any piece of hull plating on the former Milori ship could be produced by computer simply by identifying it's location on the ship, as was done for Space Command vessels. After a machine cut a plate to the right dimensions according to the specifications in the computer, enormous presses took the flat piece of Tritanium and heated it until it glowed. The presses then shaped it and allowed it to cool. When brought to the ship for welding into place, it fit perfectly.

  The space trials of the first four former Milori ships had gone extremely well. Jenetta was pleased to christen each with names and official ship designations from a list sent by Supreme Headquarters. The assigned names followed the standard naming protocol for the ship's type, but the designation included an 'M' to denote the reason for the ship's design differences. Among the first ships completed were one battleship, a cruiser, and two destroyers. Although the battleship, now identified as Pholus, GSC-B376M, only had two layers of tritanium in its hull, it was the equal of SC battleships in all other respects. A few design modifications, not visible externally, addressed some minor vulnerabilities found by the SC engineers.

  * * *

  Captain Lindahl entered the bridge a few minutes after 0100 GST. Commander Fannon, his XO, had turned command over to the ship's Second Officer, Lt. Commander McCloud, at midnight and gone to get some sleep. McCloud, as watch officer, had been occupying the Command Chair. He immediately yielded the chair to the Captain and moved to the First Officer's Chair, then gave Lindahl a full update on the current condition of the ship.

  Lindahl didn't take command of the bridge. He was there because the astrogator had estimated they would reach the reported location of a stricken freighter about 0118. When the call for assistance had come in, the Lisbon was the nearest SC ship, and it required just a slight deviation from their course. On Lindahl's orders, the com chief had notified Stewart that they would assist the freighter.

  "We have the freighter on long-range DeTect," the tactical officer announced as soon as the large object showed up on his scans. "She appears to be max'd out with ten kilometers of cargo containers."

  "You're relieved, Commander," Lindahl said to McCloud.

  "I stand relieved, sir," McCloud said.

  "Helm, bring us alongside the freighter, two kilometers distance off their larboard beam," Lindahl ordered.

  "Captain, we're less than fifteen kilometers from the Frontier Zone," McCloud said.

  "I'm aware of that, Commander."

  "Yes, sir. But regulations require that we maintain a twenty-fi
ve kilometer distance from any ship until we verify that they have no hostile intent."

  "That's been established, Commander. They called for assistance from any Space Command ship. They would hardly do that within five light-years of Stewart SCB, a base with the largest fleet of warships in Space Command, if they had hostile intentions. The ship registry file shows that they have a top speed of Light-150. They can't run away, and with ten kilometers of cargo, they can't hide."

  "Yes, sir, but the regulations…"

  "I've given my orders and they stand."

  "Shouldn't we at least go to General Quarters, sir?"

  "Drop it, Commander," Lindahl said calmly, but with a hint of irritability in his voice."

  "Yes, sir," McCloud said.

  As the helmsman cancelled the temporal envelope and engaged the sub-light engines, a slight lurch was noticeable. It only lasted as long as it took the inertial compensators to kick in and correct for the acceleration. As the Lisbon reached the freighter, the helmsman reversed the sub-light power to slow the ship, then used thrusters to maneuver it alongside the small freighter at the head of the long cargo section.

  "Chief, hail the freighter," Lindahl said.

  "Aye, Captain," the com chief said.

  "Captain," the tactical officer said loudly. "They've launched torpedoes."

  "The freighter?"

  The ship shook violently before the tactical officer could respond.

  "Sound GQ," Lindahl practically screamed.

  Emergency lights began flashing throughout the ship as a GQ message sounded over public address speakers and via CT and ID cranial implants. In seconds, officers, NCOs, and crewmen were leaping from, or falling from, bunks as they groped for clothing before running for their battle stations.

  Lindahl stabbed at a button on his chair's right hand monitor that would allow him to address the crew. "Attention, this is the Captain. We're under attack by a freighter off our starboard beam. All gunners fire at will."

  Before the first torpedo left the Lisbon, or the first laser gunner sent a beam of coherent light towards the freighter, the Lisbon was rocked a second time.

  "Helm, get us out of here," Lindahl shouted.

  "The FTL is offline, Captain, and the Sub-light engines are non-responsive. All we have is maneuvering thrusters."

  "Captain, warships approaching on the larboard beam," the tactical officer said with urgency.

  Lindahl leaned back in his chair. He knew that he had been suckered. Without mobility, they didn't have a chance against three Raider warships. Lindahl stabbed at the 'ship wide' announcement button again and said, "Larboard weapons gunners, there are three warships approaching. Light them up. Fire at will."

  The doors to the bridge slid apart and five tactical officers rushed in to take their places at the tactical station. Within seconds, they were targeting the freighter and Milori ships. Torpedoes began to belch from all tubes as quickly as the systems could load and ready them for launch.

  Lindahl just sat back and watched. There was nothing he could do. The weapons specialists knew their job and would do it until their weapons were rendered useless by enemy fire, the supply of torpedoes was exhausted, they were ordered to stand down, or they ran out of targets. The latter seemed the least likely.

  * * *

  Awakened in the middle of the night on November 3rd, Jenetta fumbled to open the com on the nightstand next to her bed. A head and shoulders image of Captain Wavala, the officer now in charge of the Communications and Computing section at Stewart, filled the screen as it brightened. Obviously agitated, judging from the tone in his voice and the quickness of his speech, he began by apologizing for the interruption.

  "Sorry to wake you, Admiral, but we have an urgent problem!"

  "What is it, Bernie?" Jenetta said sleepily.

  "We received a distress signal from a freighter several days ago. They reported a problem with their FTL drive, but stated they weren't in any immediate danger. They requested that any Space Command vessel stop to assist because their engineers weren't able to correct the problem."

  "Yes, I saw that report. The ship was the Galadvia, wasn't it?"

  "Yes ma'am. That was the name given."

  "And did you contact the nearest GSC ship?"

  "Yes, after verifying the identity of the freighter, we asked the Calgary to assist, since they were the closest ship on patrol, but then we received a message from the Lisbon, who had also picked up the distress call. Since they were only half a day away, and it wouldn't take them far from their course, they offered to handle it. We told the Calgary to continue on their normal patrol."

  "Fine, what's the problem?"

  "We've just received a message from the Lisbon that they're under attack from the Galadvia and several warships. They'd barely stopped their ship when the Galadvia loosed a broadside of torpedoes that caught the Lisbon by surprise. The initial barrage knocked out their temporal field generator, and as they were attempting to return fire, three warships showed up. That was all we got. The message wasn't completed."

  Jenetta was wide-awake now. "Contact the Calgary and any other ships within ten days and tell them to go to the aid of the Lisbon at top speed! I'll be down there in fifteen minutes. Carver out."

  * * *

  Chapter Five

  ~ November 3rd, 2278 ~

  Jenetta dressed and made it down to the Base Operations Center in less than twelve minutes. "Anything more from the Lisbon?" she asked of Captain Wavala.

  "Nothing, ma'am."

  "Let me see their message."

  After viewing the urgent call from the Lisbon, Jenetta knew that help wouldn't get there in time. The freighter's distress call was obviously phony, but who would be foolish enough to attempt the entrapment of a Space Command warship? The Tsgardi? The Raiders? No answers would be forthcoming until one of the four ships proceeding to the location of the attack arrived and investigated. A number of ships were able to respond quickly because the attack took place just five light-years from the base. But who would be so bold as to risk an attack practically on Stewart's doorstep?"

  The Calgary arrived on the scene the next day. Jenetta had returned to bed after listening to the Lisbon's message but revisited the Station Control Center in time to hear the first report from the Calgary.

  "To Stewart Base Ops Center from Captain Charles Hoyt of the GSC Destroyer Calgary.

  "We've arrived at the location of the attack. The Lisbon is still here, along with the freighter. Both ships have suffered heavy damage. We're at GQ and standing off twenty-five-thousand kilometers in case someone on either ship is waiting to attack whoever shows up. I've dispatched fighters and shuttles to investigate, and I'll transmit another report as soon as our boarding parties have had a chance to look around.

  "Captain Hoyt of the Calgary, message complete."

  Shuttles filled with Space Marines approached the Lisbon first. An escort of six fighters accompanied the shuttles, and continually circled the vessel as the Marines entered the destroyer. Captain Hoyt waited anxiously on the bridge while they searched for any sign of life. The huge monitor at the front of the Calgary's bridge was a patchwork of small images transmitted from the helmet cameras of the sergeant leading each squad of searchers. They found no survivors, although they should have been numerous because the interior of the ship was largely intact and the life support systems were still operating throughout the sealed areas of the ship.

  What the Marines did find were the lifeless bodies of crewmembers unfortunate enough to be working in areas where the hull was breached soon after the battle commenced. Several huge gaping holes were evidence of torpedo strikes. The number of crewmembers sucked out into the vacuum of space was unknown. The Calgary's first officer, Commander Hilton Rowell, was in almost constant communication with the ship as he directed the search effort, but the monitor provided a complete picture without the need for words.

  "That completes the sweep, Captain," Commander Rowell said after several ho
urs of effort. "The enemy must have docked with the ship and taken the survivors away, unless they spaced them. I'm pretty sure that none of the crew is left alive aboard this ship, but we'll complete another sweep using sound sensing equipment now that we're sure the ship hasn't been booby trapped."

  "Okay, Commander. I have another group ready to leave for the freighter. Lt. Commander Quart will lead the other search."

  "Aye, Captain. Rowell out."

  The search of the freighter also produced nothing but dead bodies, but most of the bodies were Tsgardi. After an exhaustive search, Captain Hoyt felt that he was in a position to report their findings with reasonable certainty. Communication time from the attack site to Stewart was just ninety minutes, so Stewart would receive the news quickly.

  Jenetta returned to the Ops Center upon receiving notification of a second message from the Calgary.

  "To Stewart Base Operations Center, from Captain Charles Hoyt of the GSC Destroyer Calgary.

  "Numerous members of the Lisbon crew are dead, and many hundreds are missing, including Admiral Vroman. We found the body of the admiral's aide, killed when a section of hull ruptured. Some crewmen could have been sucked out when the hull breached, but not hundreds, and a quick sweep of space around us hasn't produced more than a dozen bodies. I would venture to guess that the crewmen who survived the attack are prisoners of whoever is responsible. Although the freighter's log records the crew as being mostly Terran, my teams have reported finding only dead Tsgardi bodies in the ship. I'm appending a partial copy of the Lisbon's video log to this message. It covers the time of the attack."